Category Archives: Members Results

5 Jaguars had an early start Getting themselves to Morston Quay for 9am to run Norfolk coastal marathon, following the Coastal path. Although reasonably flat there was a strong westerly wind, relentlessly in your face for most of the Race. The 1/2 Marathon started at Burnham Overy an hour and a half later, with 10 Jags running. By the time I was 2 miles in I had already been overtaken by Ben Letzer running strong in the marathon. Although the wind, making the run difficult, we had no rain and when the Sun was out it got quite warm, my jacket was on and off every few miles. The views were wonderful, I now realise what poets mean by the Norfolk Skies , and when we saw the sea it was raging because of the wind, it looked amazing. The uneven terrain caused both Sonya and Jackie Bye to fall but thankfully they were not injured too badly, mainly just their pride. We had been told the distance was more than a marathon and half marathon, but when we got off the beach we thought we only had 800m to go, we just kept running on and on for another mile. Crossing the strangest finish line as it was inside the church hall where everyone was having their post race cups of tea and cake. Ben Letzer came in 6th in the marathon, and Mel was first Jag home in the half marathon in 7th place. All the Jags enjoyed this race despite the wind.

On the morning of Sunday 22nd October, ten Coltishall Jaguars made their way to Trowse, to take part in 14th edition of the Trowse 10k.

The route of the race, weaving through the heart of Trowse takes in a 0.6 mile incline from the White Horse Pub by Trowse common, up to its highest point at the end of the cycle track just before Whitlingham Hall. With this being tackled twice, it must surely be one of the toughest 10k races in Norfolk.

Undeterred by the prospect of such a challenge, the ten Jags set off from the Snowsports Centre race HQ, at the foot of what the centre affectionately calls Trowse Mountain.

The race began at 9am prompt, with runners making their way along Whitlingham Lane towards the Whitlingham Country Park visitors centre, and on towards the broad.

After negotiating the first turn, a slight bottle-neck, runners make their way back along the waters edge towards the start point, and continue into the centre of the village, cheered on by family and friends along the route. Reaching the common, the field begins to tackle what is regularly referred to amongst runners as “that hill..”.
Many a runner has been caught out by the turn in the cycle-track, not realising that they are only 2/3 of the way up the hill.
As a resident of Trowse living half way up the hill, I also had to fight the added temptation of diving into my house and having a sit down when passing my front door.

After negotiating the climb runners make their way down the hill though the campsite, before looping back towards the start point and centre of the village again, ready to tackle a second lap.

The Venice Marathon is a celebration of running and includes a 10km race following the last 6 miles of the full marathon course. This is a fully inclusive race including competitive runners, fun runners, walkers, dogs and anyone else who wants to join in ! Just the ideal event for Jenny Welsh, Vanessa Clements and Netty Yeomanson who were back on the road together.

The run starts in San Guiliano park on the outskirts of Venice. The first 4 km takes you over the Liberty Bridge which connects the main land to Venice. Following the tram lines you get amazing views of the lagoon with the outline of Venice in the distance. Heading into the newly developed port area the passengers on the cruise ships are starting to disembark and cheer you on.

For a magnificent piece of engineering there is a specially built pontoon bridge which takes you over the Grand Canal and before long you are running over the 15 bridges (which aren’t as easy to run over as you’d think) and into St Marks Square with the Basilica and Doge’s Palace as a back drop. The course eventually ends at Rive Sette Martiri in a really scenic position entering the lagoon.

This was a truly amazing route even though many competitors recorded it as 7 miles rather than 6 and the marathon leaders were taken the wrong way !!. A real bonus was a can of lager in the goody bag.

At the end of the race it was straight to a cafe to watch the marathon runners start to come in, with a hot cappuccino .

Well, the time had finally come to tackle the full marathon distance for the first time. Preparation was not ideal, but I was looking forward to this one in a masochistic kind of way!

It was great to meet up with Team Blake and the Taylor family for the all-important Saturday night carb-load session and Leicester-linked Jags Hilda and Netty on the morning of the race. A large field had gathered, with approximately 75% opting for the Half option. When the race started, the majority of the first 2 miles seemed fast and downhill and it was time for discipline when it came to pacing. Heading north out of the city, the streets were lined by enthusiastic locals and friendly marshals. Before we knew it, we were out in open countryside and the route took us through some picturesque villages, before turning for home.

After the half-marathoners had gone their separate ways on approximately 6 miles, the field thinned-out dramatically and there was almost the feel of a Sunday training run for long stretches. A bit of climb on 15 miles and then the long run back towards Leicester. For me, the first 16 miles was great. 16-20 miles, however, I began to realise what I had let myself in for and by the start of the 23rd mile the wheels began to come off, with cramp in both feet and ‘that voice’ telling me I should have a little walk! So, with a walk-run strategy (!) adopted for the last 3.5 miles I headed into the city centre and lost my earlier cheery persona, but thankfully managed the gruelling last uphill mile to cross the line.

Over the next 30 minutes or so I went through just about every emotion, but was ultimately pretty happy with my first attempt at the distance. It was great to see Dean and Emma at the finish after their brilliant runs (in the full and half respectively), before cheering Paul over the line.

A great weekend overall and one that certainly gave me a taste for longer races (I seem to have accidentally entered Manchester Marathon in April…).

Emma and I headed to Budapest for a 5 day city break with the prospect of a 30km race on the Sunday for Budapest’s marathon weekend. The weather was lovely and warm and there were 32,000 participants taking part in numerous races over the course of the weekend. The distances ranged from 10km, 30km, a marathon and a marathon relay with 2 or 4 members to a team. Our race, the 30km, joined the marathon runners at the 12km mark and we ran the 30km alongside them. The course took in the sights of the city running along the River Danube, Parliament and Heroes Square, to name a few. It was a fast and reasonably flat course and was very well supported along the way with crowds and bands spread about the city. We both finished the race in 2 hours 54 minutes 17 seconds. We had a great experience at the race and enjoyed seeing the sights and hearing the sounds of Budapest.

The East Coast 10k was my pb course in 2016, so when entering this race earlier in year my intention was to attempt a pb again with my running partner Phil Henry. Unfortunately picking up an injury early August put paid to this. In fact it had meant I had to pull out of the Bure Valley 10m race 2 weeks earlier. That rubbish feeling of not being able to run/race really hit home that day seeing all the great results other Jags had that weekend.

A friend Donna Monk (fellow jag and Brundall parkrunner) was in the same situation, with the same injury. Donna likes to refer to us as the Shin splint sisters! A week before the East Coast race, we got chatting at Brundall parkrun, and hatched a plan. We would run the race together, taking it easy and not aiming for pbs. We decided that as long as we were pain free we would stick together and complete the race.

We both turned up taped up to the max, we quickly dismissed the idea, that tying both bad legs together would make one good leg, and run a 3 legged race!

We set off in glorious sunshine (albeit quite a strong sea breeze). We supported each other all the way round, making sure each others dodgy leg was holding up ok. The support was fantastic from everyone. At the top near the pleasurebeach, we decided we would get a bit of a move on as we suddenly had a fear that they would run out of ghost ship and we crossed the line both pain free with smiles on our faces.

This race has taught me a lot. Not every race has to be end in a pb, the support from the marshals and crowd was the same for the people at the front, middle and back of the field, a race means as much to everyone that runs from the front, middle or back of the field. The running community is fantastic (especially being a Jag) and running friends are simply the best!!

When Rod, Jackie, Ellie, Ben and Ken decided to run in Palma de Mallorca little did they know that Hurricane Ophelia would blow in a heatwave!
In blazing sunshine Ben sensibly opted for the 10k and managed a respectable time, even if he wasn’t happy about it.
The others were in the half marathon thanking their fortune for not entering the full. Rod went off too fast (there’s a surprise!) and struggled after halfway to record 1:41:59. Jackie nearly gave up at halfway, but got going again to finish in 2:14:50. Ellie ran steadily for 1:42:14. Ken ran half the race with his Mallorcan friend, but then got left behind (Spain 1 England 0) and eventually recorded 1:39:34.
The 10k and first half of the half marathon was an out and back along the coast. Nice surface, but unrelenting sun. The half marathon then ran up into and in ever decreasing circles around the old town. Shaded but airless.
All enjoyed the experience, especially lunch in Plaza Mayor with a good rock band. Lovely city, good race, tough course.

After an early morning start us Jags and approximately 15,998 other runners made it to the start line for 9am, ready for the off, in our various coloured waves.

Starting on the southern edge of Hyde Park, we set off towards Buckingham Palace, passing through the Wellington Arch & the edge of Green Park, before reaching Horseguards Parade via Birdcage Walk – a lot of sights for the first two miles!

From there we headed through Admiralty Arch on to Whitehall, towards Downing Street & the poppy adorned Cenotaph.

After looping back towards Trafalgar Square, the route took in a number of streets, before heading back up The Mall towards the Palace & back into Hyde Park.

The route explored the majority of Hyde Park, doubling back along a stretch on the edge of the Serpentine lake, where a large number of supporters for all of the runners had gathered, with all kinds of bells, whistles and signs – the noise was phenomenal.

Soon the finish was in sight, and our medals awaited. In keeping with the park theme, the medal was made of wood & leaf shaped – a refreshing change!

It was a very well organised event that we would definitely recommend to others & hope to run again.

A bright October morning and ‘Jaguars on Tour’ assembled on the Embankment for the flat, fast and friendly Great Eastern Run. Some had chosen to arrive on the Saturday and rest up overnight, others made an early start from Norwich and area. This is a well organised event (though toilet queues can be long) there is plenty of room at the start and parking is reasonable.

The weather was perfect for racing, Jags took up places in appropriate pens and the race was underway on time. The start is not too congested and space is quickly available, giving everyone the chance to stretch their legs. Andy ‘Runner’ Mulligan disappeared into the distance. Despite, in his own words, ‘not having the best of days’ he finished easily the 1st Jaguar home. Indeed all Jaguars finished without too much trouble, including Claire who went to the start carrying an injury. Jack came home in a club Silver time, an excellent effort for his 1st competitive half.

After the race many of us trooped into the town centre to increase Costa Coffee’s profits at Stewie’s insistence. It’s a club tradition (according to Stewie). A good day for the Jaguars.

With my anticipated race partner – Bex Pountain – sadly injured for her second 10 mile race in a row I didn’t really have a plan for this race. I’ve found racing much harder psychologically this year and had a break over the summer to try to get my mojo back.
A PB was out of the question, so I set out to achieve gold standard in my first 10 mile race in Jags colours.
For the first few miles I tried to keep up with Howard Harper and Nick Eley, but after they opened a gap I decided to run my own race and try to enjoy the experience instead.
It was hard to enjoy the conditions just after 4 miles when we made a right turn into a stiff breeze and it started to rain. I thought back to the Mental Strength Workshop in the summer, remembered Rod Bye’s race mantra and found myself repeating “Ya-ya Tou-re, Ya-ya Tou-re” to myself, to fit in with my stride pattern. Being an NCFC fan I tried to think of a different player, but as Cameron Jerome and Wesley Hoolahan didn’t scan I settled on “Nor-wich Ci-ty, Nor-wich City”.
There was respite from the wind just before 5 miles when we made a left turn to run uphill and then I stopped and walked at the first water station to get a decent drink down me.
After running a loop we reached the second water station at about 7 miles and as I slowed down to grab a cup and walk again I was passed by Vicky Tovell.
Suitably refreshed I caught Vicky up and ran with her for a while. She was targeting sub 1:20 and as we were well inside that pace and I was feeling strong again I pushed on.
Around 8 miles the wind was a factor again (“Nor-wich Ci-ty, Nor-wich Ci-ty”), but the long straight towards the finish was mainly tree-lined and offered protection most of the way.
All of a sudden there was only 400 metres to go and I heard my name over the tannoy as I approached the finish along with “…..is being caught by….” and the tell-tale thump of running shoes on tarmac getting closer. That was enough to push me to a sprint finish and I held off the fast approaching runner behind me. He took it well and we laughed and high-fived after having the chips removed from our shoes.
There were some great performances by other Jags:

Andy Mulligan was top Jag after benefiting from Bex’s unfortunate withdrawal

The ever sprightly Ken Bowman achieved platinum standard

Emma Blake held her position of first in age category 40-45 from last year, ran a PB and age category record

Vicky Tovell also ran a PB and age category record

Nicola Holden teamed up with Emma and Vicky to be the 1st ladies team home

Overall there was a great Jags turn out, the race was well organised and marshalled and the cake afterwards wasn’t bad either (although obviously not up to Jags standard! :-))